Testing, Assessing, and Teaching

The main activities in the teaching and learning process are testing, assessing, and teaching. Those three activities cannot be separated at any level of learning. Almost all learning activities begin with testing and then continue to the learning process or teaching. Occasionally, during the teaching and learning process, the teacher may administer an assessment to the students prior to administering the test after the teaching materials have been completed. Testing is a method of determining a student's ability in such things or in a subject. It is also used to assess students' achievement, knowledge, and performance in a specific domain. Thesaurus defines a test as a series of questions or exercises used to assess an individual's or group's skill, knowledge, intelligence, capacities, or aptitudes.

A test is a component of evaluation. There are some distinctions between a test and an assessment. The test is planned, but the assessment is not. The test is formal, whereas the assessment is informal. A test occurs at the beginning or end of the learning process, whereas assessment is an ongoing process of teaching and learning. So, while a test is an assessment, an assessment is not always a test. Test and assessment are also used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. A test is a product that measures a specific behavior or set of goals. Meanwhile, evaluation is regarded as a procedure rather than a product (online assessment tool.com)

Teaching is the process of carrying out specific activities that have been shown through experience to be effective in getting students to learn. Teaching also refers to providing opportunities for students to listen, think, and take risks, set goals, and process feedback from the teacher as they cycle through the skills they are attempting to master. Then teaching which a big umbrella of assessment is and testing.

Formal-Informal assessment and Formative-Summative assessment are the two types of assessment. 1) Informal assessment begins with unplanned, incidental comments and responses, as well as coaching and other impromptu feedback to students. While formal assessment refers to exercises or procedures designed specifically to tap into a storehouse of skills or knowledge. 2) Formative assessment is the process of evaluating students as they develop their competencies and skills with the goal of assisting them in continuing that growth process. Summative assessments are used at the end of a course or unit of instruction to measure or summarize what students have learned.